StarkVegasSteve
11-14-2023, 05:19 PM
Didn't want to make this post too long so I'll break it up into two parts. At this point I think we kind of have a preliminary list of names that we feel comfortable with so wanted to take some time to familiarize people who may not know some of them as well.
1. Jamey Chadwell (HC Liberty)- At this point this seems to be the favorite. Chadwell has been extremely successful at his last two stops. He actually has some ties to the state as he was the HC at Delta State in 2012. They went an unimpressive 3-9 but he got the Charleston Southern job a year later. Since then he has been on a meteoric rise. Went 39-22 at Coastal with 16 of his 22 losses coming in his first two seasons. He is currently 9-0 at Liberty and has picked up right where Hugh Freeze left off. Chadwell is going to be a little like Leach in that he wants to use the whole field and spread you out, however, he is going to run it once he gets you spread out. He runs it at almost a 2:1 clip. They will pass it and he's had two pretty good QBs in Greyson McCall at Coastal and now Kaidon Salter, the UT transfer, at Liberty. He is going to want a dual threat QB so Parson would be good for this offense but he will bring in a transfer. The biggest drawbacks are going to be one, if he is successful he will be job hunting. He is not shy about it either. His name will appear in any job opening he can get his name attached to. The second is his buyout. While Liberty is private, most suggest his buyout is somewhere between 10-20 mil. Another potential drawback is going to be getting lineman in here to run his system. Even though he spreads you out, our O Line will have to dramatically improve.
2. Rhett Lashlee(HC SMU)- If Chadwell is 1A then Lashlee is 1B. To start, IT IS LASHLEE NOT LASHLEY OR ASHLEY OR ASHLEE. Not that we got that out of the way, Lashlee is an impressive guy. He comes from the Gus Malzahn tree but as he's gotten away from Malzahn he's become more modified AR than the Malzahn spread. There are still elements of the Malzahn offense in his system but he was under Dykes in his first year at SMU and that seems to kind of be where his offense shifted. You have to like his origins obviously with Dykes and his assc. to Mike and then Gus and his offense and how can manipulate space. If it's between Lashlee and Chadwell I probably go Lashlee. The drawback to him is going to be a little bit like Chadwell. His name is going to be brought up, and even though I didn't mention it, just like Chadwell if Arkansas strikes out with Malzahn then one of these two could be the next name. The other drawback is SMU. Talking with SMU people in DFW, if SMU wants him and he shows interest in staying then we can't win that bidding war. They have double digit boosters that could cover our athletic department budget with one check and they wouldn't even know the money is missing.
3. Lance Leipold (HC Kansas)- He is the hot name of the search and he is my Number 1 candidate. This guy has won everywhere and won at places you're not supposed to win. He reminds a bit of Brian Kelly in the way that they won massive at the FCS level, won big at MAC school, and now are winning big at a low level P5. I mean what he has done at Kansas is downright incredible. They were the worst P5 team for the last 10 years and may have been the worst FBS team. He is probably 60/40 run to pass so he will want the same type of QB that Chadwell would want and we have that on our roster. I mean he has won 7 games this year, mostly without his starting QB who was the preseason Big 12 POY. The drawback is going to be what we'll have to pay for him. Michigan St is rumored to be wanting him bad and they are going to overpay for a good coach. So we may have to offer 7-7.5 at the least for him and that's a drawback because I know they'll offer that so it's how high we would be willing to go and at a certain point you get into really high expectations for the amount of money you are paying.
4. Dan Mullen- I don't think I have to deep dive into this one. He's interested, how much I don't know and I don't know what the return is on our side. But there is a path back, albeit I don't know how big of a path. But it's there.
5. GJ Kinne (HC Texas St)- He is the ultimate wildcard. His rise through the ranks has been borderline absurd. This guy just started coaching 2017 and he's being rumored for SEC jobs. But he seems to have that IT factor about him. Again, you love the offenses he's been in and under. He played for Montgomery and Malzahn at Tulsa and they threw it everywhere. He was on staff with Doug Pederson in Philly and was Malzahn's OC at UCF. He knows the portal and worked it very well at Texas St this year. He is going to throw it. But he is modified AR. He is bout 55/45 run to pass this year and was about 50/50 run to pass last year at IW. Again the drawback is the same as all the G5 guys, if they succeed their name will be linked. I could also see Baylor making a move this year and if they did he would without a doubt be on their shortlist. He is not like some of the Texas guys, Traylor in particular, who are never going to leave Texas. He would leave for the right opportunity. There is no floor or ceiling with this guy yet because he's only really won and he's only been a HC for two years. But he has been a HC. If you're going to roll the dice, this is probably the guy.
I'll break down another 5 probably tomorrow
1. Jamey Chadwell (HC Liberty)- At this point this seems to be the favorite. Chadwell has been extremely successful at his last two stops. He actually has some ties to the state as he was the HC at Delta State in 2012. They went an unimpressive 3-9 but he got the Charleston Southern job a year later. Since then he has been on a meteoric rise. Went 39-22 at Coastal with 16 of his 22 losses coming in his first two seasons. He is currently 9-0 at Liberty and has picked up right where Hugh Freeze left off. Chadwell is going to be a little like Leach in that he wants to use the whole field and spread you out, however, he is going to run it once he gets you spread out. He runs it at almost a 2:1 clip. They will pass it and he's had two pretty good QBs in Greyson McCall at Coastal and now Kaidon Salter, the UT transfer, at Liberty. He is going to want a dual threat QB so Parson would be good for this offense but he will bring in a transfer. The biggest drawbacks are going to be one, if he is successful he will be job hunting. He is not shy about it either. His name will appear in any job opening he can get his name attached to. The second is his buyout. While Liberty is private, most suggest his buyout is somewhere between 10-20 mil. Another potential drawback is going to be getting lineman in here to run his system. Even though he spreads you out, our O Line will have to dramatically improve.
2. Rhett Lashlee(HC SMU)- If Chadwell is 1A then Lashlee is 1B. To start, IT IS LASHLEE NOT LASHLEY OR ASHLEY OR ASHLEE. Not that we got that out of the way, Lashlee is an impressive guy. He comes from the Gus Malzahn tree but as he's gotten away from Malzahn he's become more modified AR than the Malzahn spread. There are still elements of the Malzahn offense in his system but he was under Dykes in his first year at SMU and that seems to kind of be where his offense shifted. You have to like his origins obviously with Dykes and his assc. to Mike and then Gus and his offense and how can manipulate space. If it's between Lashlee and Chadwell I probably go Lashlee. The drawback to him is going to be a little bit like Chadwell. His name is going to be brought up, and even though I didn't mention it, just like Chadwell if Arkansas strikes out with Malzahn then one of these two could be the next name. The other drawback is SMU. Talking with SMU people in DFW, if SMU wants him and he shows interest in staying then we can't win that bidding war. They have double digit boosters that could cover our athletic department budget with one check and they wouldn't even know the money is missing.
3. Lance Leipold (HC Kansas)- He is the hot name of the search and he is my Number 1 candidate. This guy has won everywhere and won at places you're not supposed to win. He reminds a bit of Brian Kelly in the way that they won massive at the FCS level, won big at MAC school, and now are winning big at a low level P5. I mean what he has done at Kansas is downright incredible. They were the worst P5 team for the last 10 years and may have been the worst FBS team. He is probably 60/40 run to pass so he will want the same type of QB that Chadwell would want and we have that on our roster. I mean he has won 7 games this year, mostly without his starting QB who was the preseason Big 12 POY. The drawback is going to be what we'll have to pay for him. Michigan St is rumored to be wanting him bad and they are going to overpay for a good coach. So we may have to offer 7-7.5 at the least for him and that's a drawback because I know they'll offer that so it's how high we would be willing to go and at a certain point you get into really high expectations for the amount of money you are paying.
4. Dan Mullen- I don't think I have to deep dive into this one. He's interested, how much I don't know and I don't know what the return is on our side. But there is a path back, albeit I don't know how big of a path. But it's there.
5. GJ Kinne (HC Texas St)- He is the ultimate wildcard. His rise through the ranks has been borderline absurd. This guy just started coaching 2017 and he's being rumored for SEC jobs. But he seems to have that IT factor about him. Again, you love the offenses he's been in and under. He played for Montgomery and Malzahn at Tulsa and they threw it everywhere. He was on staff with Doug Pederson in Philly and was Malzahn's OC at UCF. He knows the portal and worked it very well at Texas St this year. He is going to throw it. But he is modified AR. He is bout 55/45 run to pass this year and was about 50/50 run to pass last year at IW. Again the drawback is the same as all the G5 guys, if they succeed their name will be linked. I could also see Baylor making a move this year and if they did he would without a doubt be on their shortlist. He is not like some of the Texas guys, Traylor in particular, who are never going to leave Texas. He would leave for the right opportunity. There is no floor or ceiling with this guy yet because he's only really won and he's only been a HC for two years. But he has been a HC. If you're going to roll the dice, this is probably the guy.
I'll break down another 5 probably tomorrow